EKSU graduate targeted first class to impress her dad but he died before she clinched it
Oluwatumininu Adesua, who graduated from the Department of Biochemistry, Ekiti State University, with a 4.67 CGPA in the 2018/2019 academic session, narrated how she targeted first class to impress her father but he died before she clinched it.
She shared her academic journey and the memorable moments during the programme in an interview with The PUNCH.
When asked what influenced her drive for excellence in your academic work, she said: “From when my siblings and I were much younger, our parents never appreciated average results. If we had any average result, we often paid for it. When I saw my first semester result in my first year, I had 4.39 GPA and that was the best in the department. When I told my dad, excitedly, he didn’t seem so impressed.
“I felt since he wasn’t proud of the result, it was probably not good enough, so I had to go back and re-strategise. In the second semester, I had 4.44 GPA, but I already knew he wouldn’t be excited since it wasn’t first class. Later in the day, maybe he saw that my morale was really down, he sent me a message that he was proud of me but I would have to do better for me to get that smile I wanted.
“Meanwhile, I had heard stories that it wasn’t easy to make first class and that there were issues with my department, but I had to remind myself that if I really wanted it, I could get it. There are always discouraging stories but I believe it is left to individuals to either stick to their aspirations and work at it or resign to fate. I chose the former.”
When did you eventually start having first-class result?
I didn’t monitor my result in the first semester of my second year, but in the second semester, our level coordinator called me and said we had some issues with a particular result. So, she asked us to come and check our results. When it was my turn, she told me I had been on a first-class grade since first semester.
How did you feel when you heard that?
(Smiles) I said really? I didn’t know I was there already, so it was surprising to me.
What did your dad say when you told him?
He chuckled and asked what the score was. When I told him 4.52, he said okay. At that point, I knew half of the problem was solved; I only needed to do more. I should add that my parents’ affirmation is important to me to a certain degree because I know how much they both sacrificed for us and so I knew I had to do better to make them happy. In my third year, I had to put in more efforts and to God be the glory, I had 5.00 GPA in both semesters. That was what really boosted my CGPA. Sadly, my dad was not alive to see me do better. He died when I had just finished my exam.
How did you handle the loss?
I told myself that even though he was no longer around, I still loved to make him and my mum proud, so I didn’t relax. My target was 4.72 and I was determined to get there. I didn’t eventually, but I’m proud of my efforts and the outcome. However, in other areas, it wasn’t easy at all. Being the first child, I had to be there for my siblings and more importantly for my mum. When he died, our finances took a nosedive; it (the death) really affected us financially because he was the breadwinner, but God has been helping us and He has used some people to be of help to us. It could have been worse but my dad sorted our tuition fees before he died. That was helpful, even though sorting out other things was difficult. To the glory of God, two of us have graduated now, though no job yet, while our youngest sibling is still an undergraduate. I’m trusting God to provide me a job soon so I can be a blessing to my mum and siblings.
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